WWI German MG08 - Chinese Type 24 with provenance

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This is an incredibly rare WWI era Chinese Type 24 "MG08" Maxim Heavy Machine gun with period correct Dreifuss 16 tripod. During the First World War Germany supplied China with the original MG08 and in 1935 the Chinese decided to manufacture their own variant the Type 24. During its service life they were used all over Asia but mostly in China, however guns that were captured by the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese war and World War II were reassigned and used in various Japanese units with some being used against The Allied forces. Some have even turned up in Indonesia. Considerable numbers were used in the Korean War, and a few went to Vietnam, mostly for anti-aircraft use.

The Type 24 was first introduced to the National Revolutionary Army in 1935 and was the standard heavy machine gun for all Nationalists, Communists, and Warlords from 1935. On the top cover of this one you will see where the Chinese markings once were, with just the serial number remaining. These were removed by either the Japanese or after it was captured. However, due to the size of the removal marks this strongly suggests that there were also further markings. The internal parts carry WWI Imperial German acceptance stamps making this a very rare gun indeed!

This particular gun has a traceable past. It appeared in an auction in the UK a few years ago stating that it was used in the Greek Civil War and that it was captured by British forces in WWII before becoming the property of the international firearms dealer Samuel Cummings, founder of US firm Interarms. Cummings started Interarms in 1953, the company came to dominate the free world market in private arms sales, buying and selling firearms worldwide. At some stage this gun ended up in the UK where it was deactivated before being offered for sale in 2014 catalog at Drewealt London Auctioneers.

This is the rare opportunity to own a very scarce machine gun with links to the First World War.